There was anger in a recent reader email: “Saddam Hussein thought if he lashed U.S. POWs to the front of his T-62s, he could drive to Jerusalem without taking fire. Now Cadet Bone Spurs has lashed U.S. farmers to his…
Athletic success is similar to innovation in many ways
The Winter Olympics were fun to watch — and they also illustrated some fundamental economic issues. The big medal winners were relatively small countries: Norway, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Sweden. The much larger United States, China and Japan all…
Bill Phillips’ curve still influential
Every academic discipline has dirty secrets. Those of economics include the fact that some of our best known principles are based on very thin data. The Phillips curve, which is relevant to much of today’s economic news, is one of…
Fed steps up at Wells Fargo
In the slog of a cold winter unexpected good news can lift one’s spirits. That happened to me the last Friday in January when late in the afternoon after markets had closed, the Federal Reserve brought a hammer down on…